Public Visits

The Observatory is a private teaching and research establishment, and is not normally open to visitors except as summarised below.

The Observatory holds free public open evenings, normally fortnightly on Fridays during UCL term times (October–March inclusive), 18:30–19:40 and 19:45–20:55. (A Saturday evening tour is usually also offered each term for visitors unable to attend on Fridays for religious reasons; these visits start at 19:30.) The earlier tour may be preferable for families with children, but note that the content and nature of the tours (including negotiating some steep, open-tread stairs) mean they may not suitable for all children younger than 7–8 years old.

Visitors are given a short introductory lecture followed by a full tour of the telescopes and facilities. During the tour season, only about 1 evening in 3 or 4 is clear, and in any event it may that neither the Moon nor the brighter planets are well placed for viewing. Nonetheless if weather permits, visitors will normally be given the opportunity to view the sky through the Fry 8-inch refractor.

Advance booking is essential; tours are very popular, and places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. A calendar of tour availability is given below. Booking requests should be made through the Observatory administrator, Mrs. Kay Nakum, on 02031 081613, or by email to

N.B. – unfortunately, the site is not wheelchair-friendly, and has steep stairways; disabled visitors should contact us in advance to enquire about access. There is no on-site visitor parking (other than by advance arrangement for disabled visitors).

There are no remaining vacancies for the 2011/12 season. Tours will resume in October 2012, but bookings will not be taken until dates have been decided and announced (most probably in Aug/Sep 2012).

Schools visits

For school visits please see our Outreach information.

Private visits

We will consider request for private group visits, subject to scheduling constraints. The itinerary will be similar to that for regular public tours (and is subject to the same caveats concerning weather conditions). Daytime visitors may be able to view the Sun using our specialised equipment. Charges are levied to cover staffing costs: 1-12 persons, £120; 13-24, £180; 25-36, £240. We regret that groups larger than 36 cannot normally be accommodated.

Personal programmes

From time to time we receive requests from amateur astronomers and others wishing to use Observatory equipment for personal research programmes. We must decline such requests, because of teaching schedules, as well as security and insurance issues.

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